Bombardier creates 200 new jobs
There was good news on the economic front in the North today when Belfast aerospace company Bombardier announced it is to recruit 200 additional workers.
They will be the first of 800 to be added to the current 5,100 resident workforce as work builds up on a new generation, fuel-efficient, regional jet.
There is also construction work in the pipeline, the company also announced it was preparing plans for a new 500,000 sq ft factory needed to cope with the new aircraft.
The Bombardier parent company in Canada announced in July it was to press ahead with the development of a new CSeries 100 seat regional jet – the aircraft is not due to fly until 2013 but orders are already rolling in.
The company is making a £500m (€620m)-plus investment in the Belfast plant – the largest ever single inward investment in Northern Ireland – to enable the Belfast plant to be involved in the new aircraft.
It is designing and manufacturing the composite wings for the new aircraft.
Commenting on the new recruitment drive a spokesman said: “We are delighted to be in a position to provide job opportunities, particularly in the current difficult economic climate.
“Bombardier’s commercial and business aircraft programmes, in which we in Belfast play a major role, have witnessed a growth in demand over the last year, and we have a strong order backlog.”
She added: “The launch of the CSeries, which is due to enter service in 2013, is a major driver of this recruitment. Over the next couple of years, we will be focusing on developing the complex engineering, design and manufacturing processes, and are currently preparing plans for the new 500,000 square feet factory needed to accommodate production of the composite wings.”
She said it was a great opportunity to be involved in an exciting new aircraft programme.
“We will be designing and producing the greenest, most environmentally-friendly aircraft in its class.”
